Types of milk and their benefits

You are never too old to drink milk. Milk is full of vitamins and nutrients. Earlier, there were just two types of milk that we knew of – raw milk and boiled milk. However, with changing times and keeping the health conscious people in mind, markets are being bombarded with different kinds of milk. Today, we will tell you more about the kinds of milk and their benefit in the following paragraphs.

Milk is packed with calcium and phosphorous which is needed for development of bones in children, protein required for muscle repair and nutrients that provide energy. While milk is a must for kids, health conscious folk think twice before gulping down a glass. However, there is the low fat milk/skimmed/toned milk available for the calorie conscious.

Commercially there are just two types of milk – pasteurised and homogenised.

Pasteurised milk

This milk is heated at high temperatures in order to the kill the harmful bacteria without losing out on the flavour or nutritional content of the milk.

Homogenised milk

The milk here goes through a process where the fat globules in it are broken, which spreads the fat evenly, preventing the formation of the creamy layer on top. However, the fat content and other factors remain the same.

Next, we will talk about the kinds of milk and the content of fat in them.

Whole milk

Whole milk, also called full-cream milk is usually consumed by children, teenagers and body builders. Whole milk is called so because it contains all the milk fat found them. One glass of whole milk contains 3.5% milk fat, which provides about 150 calories. Whole milk is also creamier and full of flavour.

Skimmed milk

While whole milk is delicious and flavourful because of all the fat, skimmed milk has almost zero fat content – 0.3% to 0.1%. Though skimmed milk contains all the nutrients found in whole milk like the vitamins and minerals, it gives you just half the calories of full cream milk, around 80 calories per glass of milk.

Toned milk

Toned milk, also called the single toned milk is obtained by adding skimmed milk powder and water to whole milk. It contains about 3.0% fat and toned milk restricts the body from absorbing cholesterol from the milk to minimum. Toned milk contains the same nutrition as whole milk minus the fat soluble vitamins. One glass of toned milk provides around 120 calories.

Double toned milk

This milk is obtained by adding skimmed milk powder to whole milk and has about 1.5% fat content. Double toned milk is ideal for those trying to maintain weight as it keeps the calorie intake under check and aids weight loss.